Toyota confirms plug in 3rd Gen Prius next year.

The current Prius iTech is $46,900
I hope we can get a top of the range Prius G3 for about $42,000 as that will mean the base model price will be down too.

 

i second the FREE PRIUS for the closest MSRP guess. I say $32,800

 

$32,801. :d

 

my guess is 28,281 for top end Plat. $500 extra for shipping

 

PJM - it's gotta cost more than the GEN II...........i think!

 

(I apologize my English) The new Prius 2010, will be compatible with the next generation of Li-Ion batteries? If in the next years, I change the Ni battery by a new Li-Ion battery, can I get a ‘plug-in’ version of the Prius 2010? What about the system of power suply?
Thanks.

 

be that as it may, i be willing to bet that hymotion and others will provide the technology to swap. it would be nice to have Toyota institute the plug in, and then have Hymotion provide various range options. i think that is what i will be waiting for.

 

(hint)
What 'if' corporate fleet owners signed up to buy a batch, leased 'em ... ran 'em around for a year or so. I wonder how long the fleet owners are required to lease them. And at that point, I wonder if the Leassee's will be allowed to sell 'em to us peons ... mabye make an offer we couldn't refuse?

Alternativly, how small is a corporate fleet? There are boutique lease arrangements made here & there, for those tiny mom & pop corp's.

 

Hymotion can only do a add on LiIon pack as it is in the G2.

In order to swap out the NiMH battery pack, the firmware in the ECU and battery management has to be updated or modified. Toytoa will not give the source code to Hymotion. This firmware is patented.
If you do a patent search, you will find all the patents on the G2 battery management stuff.
Even Hymotion can reverse engineering the firmware, they cannot legally sell it to the public.

An add on is the only option without infringing Toyota's firmware by spoofing the firmware. This is not an ideal solution due to limitations.
Toyota may even put in firmeware to prevent spoofing in the G3 firmware. Don't hold your hope so high.

 

ya no what?? plug ins will be available whether its from Toyota or not. there is a guy on yahoo Zenn group who had his Zenn upgrade to Li batts. it was done by a guy in Cali who did a Li mod of his own on his Pri.

fact is, there is a demand and someone will fill it. it would be nice if its Toyota, but at this point, i really dont care where it comes from. granted, Toyota is a massive company that can probably negotiate a better purchase deal on batteries to help lower the cost, but i am not going to wait on them forever

 

It's not like they can go buy automotive quality li-ion batteries from a catalog somewhere. It's the car companies which are driving the R&D for creating these batteries. A company like Tesla used off the shelf li-ion batteries for laptops, but then had to engineer the entire heat, charging/discharging, safety subsystems, etc. GM, with it's Chevy Volt, tasked both A123Systems (an MIT spinoff) and LG Chem (South Korea) to develop a long lasting, safe, cheap enough, energy dense enough, fast discharging, etc. lithium ion battery specifically for their Chevy Volt (shape, weight, power/energy requirements).

I applaud GM for pushing the envelope. These batteries will not be created without huge car corporations funding the R&D and providing a possible mass market that interests investors for the battery companies.

There is a critical mass to an industry's breakthrough (like the early days of integrated circuits, the Military had to fund and buy enough for their missiles before the technology progressed enough to jump to other uses). Little after-market niche companies will not cut it - it takes a GM or Toyota to move the lithium-ion technology far enough to get everyone's attention.

I think GM did this with the Volt, and now Toyota knows they better jump on the bandwagon before it's too late. Last year, they were downplaying li-ion, probably because of the Sony laptop fire scare of late 2006. (if a battery pack catches fire and kills 5 passengers, it will be a Public Relations nightmare, and might kill off the whole industry, like the Hindenburg fire...)

 

GM did what with the Volt??? whats a Volt?? and let me say that i am fully confident, i will be asking the same question in 2 years.

and i would find it difficult... no, i would find it IMPOSSIBLE to believe that Toyota was spurred on to develop plug-ins because of GM. there is no doubt, they have been investigating the option for years.

 

Thanks. Tecnically, the two systems looks diferents and the conversion will be not simple. But, how Toyota is selling a new 2010 model if it could be "obsolete" in one or two years, when the new tecnology will be in the market? Logically, the Plug In version, won't be a diferent car, just the electric part of the car will be diferent. How can I buy now a 2010 Prius if I am reading the next version - with more miles in EV mode- will be in the market the next year?
I am a little confused and I really want to by the Prius. Thanks.

 

Plug-in will cost more. Not all that can use plug-in will have the plug to utilize it either.

 

not obsolete. just another option is all.

suppose you buy the top of the line cellphone, and a month later (IF if takes THAT long) something better comes out. does that somehow render your nearly brand new phone useless?? no longer fits your needs?? well i dont think so.

now is the newer product able to fit your needs better? that maybe true, but that possibility is ALWAYS TRUE. there is always something better around the corner.

so if you want the 2010. get it. as far as the plug in option goes, dont make it more than it really is. its not the "end all to be all" solution and to be honest with ya, it will only really benefit a relatively small segment of drivers ( small as in less than half. but by no means am i saying immediate plug in options are not worth the effort. hundreds of thousands could benefit now!!) . people with short in town commutes. able to plug in at work, etc. those will be the ones that benefit.

if you have a 20 mile one way commute, will you benefit??? sure, you will... a little. probably average a few mpg's more. cost will be slightly lower after electricity is figured in. but for me, it would be huge. i can do all my commuting both ways and never burn a drop of gas. couple that will cheap hydroelectric northwest electricity, and ya, it would be better for me.

so if you want to wait, its up to you, but by next year, there will be a lot of options and remember, if you are in my situation, there are several EV options available right now that works, i use one right now.

but to me, the solar sun roof will not be obsolete, the better mileage, higher performance, cooler gadgets, etc... none of that will tarnish just because a plug in is on the horizon

 

SORRY...the solar panel is a joke. Originally, it was going to charge the battery. All that technology on the roof to extract air in the interior!!!! You can buy a Small solar driven model that fits in the window frame fo $19.95 at PEP BOYS. Who needs this option anyway?

 

Also don't forget the remote A/C which lowers the temperature far more in the last 3 minutes before entering the car. This remote A/C feature is part of the same pack, you can't get it without solar roof, can you?